Seismic surveying is used for identifying subterranean elements, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs, fresh water aquifers, gas injection reservoirs, and so forth. In performing seismic surveying, seismic sources are placed at various locations on an earth surface, sea floor or at a sea surface (or in a wellbore), with the seismic sources activated to generate seismic waves directed into a subterranean structure. Examples of seismic sources include explosives, air guns, or other sources that generate seismic waves.
The seismic waves generated by a seismic source travel into the subterranean structure, with a portion of the seismic waves reflected back to the surface (earth surface, sea floor, sea surface, or wellbore surface) for receipt by seismic sensors (e.g., geophones). These seismic sensors produce signals that represent detected seismic waves. Signals from the seismic sensors are processed to yield information about the content and characteristic of the subterranean structure.
To characterize the seismic sensors to assure proper operation, the seismic sensors are tested in situ (in the field) and during production of the seismic sensors. An issue associated with testing seismic sensors is the presence of seismic noise. Seismic noise can be caused by wind, by equipment in the field, or by other factors. The presence of seismic noise can result in longer test times or in preventing tests from being performed at all. Also, reliability of test results can be adversely affected by the presence of noise. For example, if the test result is to be used for calibration of the seismic sensors, the calibration parameters produced from the test results would be less accurate, which can increase errors in seismic data produced from measurements by the mis-calibrated sensors.